Saturday, 29 July 2017

Spent the day with my mother and sister Lucy. Took mother to Hunstanton to do some errands, went to Thornham to pick up fish 'n' chips from 'Eric's'. Later in afternoon, took mother and Lucy to Old Hunstanton Flower Festival – mother had been yesterday, but didn't have the energy to walk into the church to see the flower displays, so I took her today. Fed the ducks by the the village pond and then returned to Holme. I left Lucy to spend time alone with mother and I went off to Titchwell RSPB.

The Autumn Trail was opened today for the first time this year, so off I went to explore. Heard the Turtle Dove purring in the car park, but couldn't see it. Greenfinches and a young Great Tit were on the feeders. A pair of Mute Swans, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Mallards, Black-headed Gulls were on Patsy's Reedbed and a Barn Owl perched momentarily on one of the dead trees.

Walked along the East Trail and to the far end of the Autumn Trail and sat on the seat overlooking the freshmarsh. Several Bearded Tits were pinging in the reeds and a Reed Warbler balanced on a reed stem. Tons of waders on the freshmarsh, but poor light from east side. Little Egrets x 2 flew over and a Marsh Harrier was seen. Spent a long time photographing Cormorants coming in to land on the dead trees. Made my way back to the Fen Trail and heard a Cetti's Warbler.

Along the main path it was spitting with rain – gloomy weather now. Sat in Island Hide and watched tons of waders feeding until dusk – a single Common Sandpiper, handful of Dunlin, 1 Little Ringed Plover, several Lapwing, tons of Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits, a good number of Ruff, Redshanks, Shelducks and young, Mallards, Grey Heron, a single Spoonbill, Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, 2 Med. Gulls, Common Terns and Little Egrets.

Returned to Holme and then took Lucy home – pouring with rain as we drove back to King's Lynn.

Friday, 28 July 2017

Heavy, torrrential rain this evening – but a nice day forecast tomorrow thank goodness. Saturday is predicted to be nicer than Sunday, which is good as I'm working all day on Sunday!

I have been in constant pain all week since my accident. I can walk a little faster now, but not up to top speed yet. Still kills me to sit too long and to get up from sitting – fed up with it now! I have not been able to sleep at night as not been able to get comfortable, last night was the first time I have slept since the accident.

Mother managed to go on the bus to Old Hunstanton Flower Festival today, which runs until Sunday – she loves going to this, so glad she managed to go.

Via Twitter, the Autumn Trail at Titchwell RSPB is open from tomorrow!

I will never, never sit down outside again, without thoroughly checking where I am sitting! The pain from my accident on Sunday was worse last night and which ever way I turned in bed, I was uncomfortable, even with ibuprofen and paracetamol. In the end I gave up and feebly made my way downstairs to take more pain relief and managed to get into a slightly more comfortable position on the sofa. It was now 4am. I had no idea, that at this time of the morning, most TV channels seemed to be advertising fitness equipment in order to obtain the perfect body – did I really want to be looking at six packs and hollow tummies at this time of the morning? NO! Turned telly off and tried to get to sleep again on sofa. My phone alarm goes off every morning at 7am, 7.10am, 7.15am and 7.27am and all on snooze to irritate the hell of me, to ensure I get out of bed........ I opened my eyes and looked at my phone which said 8am...... "****" needless to say I was late for work! Aside from the frustration that I can not walk fast at the moment, the worst pain is getting in/out of a car – getting out of a car after you have been driving for half an hour plus or when you first try to get up from sitting down at home – it takes your breath away! Oh, I also discovered that a large blue bruise is appearing on my derrière, which was to be expected after almost impaling myself – thank god for the waterproof bag! I'm not a good patient!

Sunday, 23 July 2017

Highlight of the afternoon at Titchwell RSPB was not the Pectoral
Sandpiper – it was the Red Arrows displaying and then flying over the
reserve back to Lincolnshire!!! People had to pay to see them at Holkham
Fair! The lowlight was me sitting down in long grass next to main path to
photograph the Pectoral Sandpiper and landed on a short stump with big
rusty bent nail, that was hidden in the grass – right on my tail bone
(coccyx) – absolutely agony, can hardly walk and it killed me to drive
home – dosed up with paracetamol and ibuprofen – hope I can get out of
bed in the morning!!!

Beautiful evening light – Island Hide, Titchwell RSPB

A fabulous afternoon spent at Titchwell RSPB until my little accident. Lovely close views of the Pectoral Sandpiper just north of Island Hide, but not quite close enough for my little 300mm lens to obtain any crisp shots – although I got some lovely phone-scoped video. Titchwell is looking really, really good – absolutely jam-packed with waders. Other birds seen: Hundreds of Avocets, huge numbers of Black-tailed Godwits and good numbers of Ruff all in various states of plumage! Redshanks, Spotted Redshanks x 3, a few Dunlin feeding with Black-tailed Godwits, Common Sandpiper x 1, Little Ringed Plovers x 9, Common Terns, Med. Gulls, Little Gull x 1, Egyptian Geese + young, Greylag Geese, Shelduck + young, Mallards, good numbers of Oystercatchers, Curlew x 1, Whimbrel x 1, Little Egrets, Grey Heron, Starling flocks, Marsh Harrier, Cormorants on dead trees, Barn Owl at dusk – Reed Buntings, several Sedge and Reed Warblers and a fabulous view of a Sedge Warbler who had captured a Gatekeeper butterfly! A Hobby flashed through and scattered the majority of waders on the freshmarsh and there were several Pied Wagtails flitting around.

Pectoral Sandpiper by Island Hide, Titchwell RSPB

On the sea I saw 5 Gannets flying west and also an Arctic Skua flew west, which was hassled by a Common Tern on route. A Painted Lady butterfly landed on the sand next to where I was sitting. I spent the rest of the evening with the Pectoral Sandpiper. Whilst standing near Island Hide, I heard someone standing close by saying 'Red Arrows' – looking up in the sky, I couldn't believe my eyes! There were the famous Red Arrows displaying right over the reserve – ok, so slight exaggeration – it was actually a display over Holkham at the Holkham Fair (I discovered later), but it didn't seem that far away. The plumes of Blue and Red smoke trails swirled through fluffy white clouds and blue skies – fabulous views, highlight of the day! The best moment was when they departed and headed towards us, over the seaward side of the reserve and off over The Wash to Lincolnshire – Wow! If only I had been standing by the sea at that moment – I would have potentially have got some cracking photos!

After all this excitement, I decided to sit down by the path at a low angle, to photograph the Pectoral Sandpiper. The grass was wet, so placed my waterproof stuff sack down to sit on. I wasn't half way down the bank (which is too close in my opinion), I simply sat down right next to the chalky path – oh how I wish I had sat further down! As I sat, I landed on a loose rusty nail stuck in a very short, lumpy post, which was hidden from view in the long grass – right on my tail bone! The pain was intense and after feeling to inspect what I had landed on, I shuffled a few inches away from the stump and did not get up immediately, as I didn't think I was going to be able to! When I did get up, it was agony – I plodded slowly back along the main path to the car park. The skies had blackened and it looked like heavy rain was imminent, but I could not walk at a fast pace.

Visited my mother for a short while, who had been trimming things in garden and had re-pulled her already pulled muscle in her lower back and was hobbling around – 'look at the state of us' both I said! Returned home and took paracetamol and ibuprofen and managed to sleep through most of the night. I really didn't think I would be able to get out of bed on Monday morning, but managed ok and went to work, but was incredibly frustrated as I normally walk extremely fast and was not able to. Driving is ok today, but getting in/out of a car is very slow. Just to make you all laugh, I attempted to look in the mirror to see if I had a bruised, blue bottom, but can't see any bruising yet! I feel like I've been hit with a lump of concrete! Hope it gets better soon – I can't be doing with slow walking!

I never seem to catch anyone dropping litter and yet there seems to be tons of litter everywhere I go: on beaches, public places, roadside verges, town centres and the list goes on. I simply don't understand why – obviously there are many people that have no respect for others, for wildlife, the environment and are totally and utterly lazy. I am ashamed to say that there are many people who discard litter in the grounds of my local hospital, ranging from plastic drinks bottles and cans, sandwich wrappers, cartons, chocolate and crisp wrappers, paper coffee cups, cigarette butts, plastic bags and the list goes on.

My father used to have a cartoon poster on the window at Holme Bird Observatory, which read "For Pete's Sake Don't Drop Litter" Pete was a man with a peaked cap, dressed in green and placing litter in a bin. I remember being amused by this as a child, as I saw 'Pete' as my father Peter! I'm pretty sure no one out there from the 'old days' remembers this little poster on the window – well maybe Malcolm and Eileen W. do! There was far less litter in those days! Perhaps we need to bring back the "For Pete's Sake Don't Drop Litter" posters! Sadly though, I don't think it would make any difference whatsoever.

MY TOP TEN LITTER RANTS (in no particular order)

1.
Dog's mess either not cleared up, or the poop bags slung in undergrowth or hung ornately on bushes, expecting someone else to clear it up! Well, they don't get cleared up – they fester here for months on end, until the plastic disintegrates into tiny fragments and releases toxic chemicals, which then break down into the soil and is ingested by wildlife who often choke and die! I have also noticed in recent years a new trend of dogs being allowed to soil beaches – this never occurred when I was a youngster! Its an awful thought that you can't simply sit down on the shingle or sandy beach, without checking for dog crap first!

2.
Discarded cigarette butts – I genuinely don't think some smokers view these as 'litter', but they very much are and what a disgusting sight! I especially get annoyed when they are thrown from a car window, as these are at risk of setting dry grassland alight – this does happen! I also find it incredibly annoying and rude to have a burning cigarette butt thrown from a moving vehicle to land on your car bonnet, as it did to me recently!

3.
Rubbish piled up next to a minuscule public litter bin – and yes, the public bins are too small for the ever increasing tourists to Norfolk, but do you really need to leave it behind?! NO, you don't! TAKE IT HOME and place in your OWN bins – not difficult, is it!

6.
Human excrement and toilet paper! If you have to go, at least cover it up!

7.
Deflated balloons and fragments of – dangerous to wildlife and environment. DON'T RELEASE BALLOONS into the sky! They may look pretty at the time, but only for minutes, once out of sight they will destroy life! Instead of releasing balloons in memory of a loved one or for a cause, plant a tree instead: create life, don't kill it. Ditto with Sky Lanterns.

8.
Fly-tipping – anything goes, anywhere, any time!

9.
Chewing gum stuck on seats and under tables!

10.
Fishing tackle: lines, hooks left to strangle and be swallowed by birds, often resulting in death.

Tuesday, 18 July 2017

If you would like to help RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre
continue rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing wildlife with a donation
of just £3, simply text RSPCA3 to 70007‘ (Texts cost £3 + standard
network rate).

RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre will also be hosting an Open Day on Sunday 23 July from 10am until 4pm.

Sunday, 16 July 2017

Bad day, dipped the Long-billed Dowitcher by minutes! Didn't arrive at Cley until late for various reasons. As I pulled in the East Bank car park I saw Eddie and Pete S. arrive back from seeing the Long-billed Dowitcher. I chatted with Pete for no more than a couple of minutes and then started to walk along the East Bank – bumped into Dave Appleton. who had just seen the bird flew west towards the NWT hides! I couldn't believe it!!! Phoned Eddie and whilst on the phone, he watched the Long-billed Dowitcher fly briefly over Pat's Pool and then head towards North Scrape!

I retraced my steps and flew round to Coastguards. Dave Appleton and Jake Gearty joined me and we walked across the shingle to North Scrape. Med Gull flying along the shore and a massive flock of Starlings were along the fence line. No sign of the LBD on North Scrape. Walked back to the car park and I returned alone to the East Bank car park. Spent the rest of the evening here with no sign of the Long-billed Dowitcher. I felt very very fed-up – only myself to blame though. Watched a Stoat running along the path. Congratulations to Jake Gearty who found this bird on The Serpentine off the East Bank this morning! The last one in Norfolk was at Titchwell RSPB on 21st September 2007, which luckily I saw! It stayed until 2nd October. Here is the link to my sighting on Birdforum and read Post 2001 – Birdforum was where I posted all my bird sightings, until I started my blog in 2010.

I had to drive via Holme along the coast road to deliver something. Saw a Barn Owl at Stiffkey and a Little Owl fly over my car at Knight's Hill Hotel, by the farm shop.

Saturday, 15 July 2017

Kindly taken with my iphone by Festival Too Chairman Alan TaylorYou can just see me in the bottom left hand corner!

At the last minute, I decided to go into town and see boy band BUSTED, who were the headline act for the final night of Festival Too. I always get lucky with parking and got a space that someone had just vacated in the car park near St Nicholas's church. However, I was not allowed to get into the Festival via that end of the market place for security reasons, so had to run round to the opposite end via MacDonalds to get in!

The market place was packed out solid and I realised that I had no hope of getting where I needed to be in order to get pictures of the group – I should have arrived three hours ago! I headed along the Dukes Head Hotel side of the stage and sneaked past a barrier in order to get a side view, as close to the front as possible – this I achieved, but it was very much a side view and my attempts at photographing band members over tall people and a metal barrier were pretty poor, as you will see below! However, I did get a decent picture of local DJ Mark Stanford. My best footage was videos of the crowd with my iphone.

The crowd were in good spirits and people were jumping up and down, phone lights were flashing – a tremendous atmosphere! Lots of security staff, police and St John Ambulance were in place. I spotted Festival Too Chairman Alan Taylor, who I cheekily asked to climb the stairs up to a vantage point (public not allowed up there) and take a video of the crowd with my iphone, which he kindly did – thanks Alan! I worked with Alan at the Lynn News for seven years, he is now Director of Your Local Paper (link to tonight's festival).

Wednesday, 12 July 2017

Both mother and I have been very low in mood lately and both stressed with a number of issues, so I decided we needed to go out for the evening. So after work, I whizzed over to Holme, picked mother up and we spent the evening at Titchwell RSPB. After rain all day yesterday, it was nice to see the sun out again and it was a beautiful evening.

We watched and listened to a Turtle Dove purring in the car park. Chatted to a lovely couple who had been photographing some Blackcaps in the scrub, but we didn't see any. A couple of Greenfinches were perched in an elder along with a Hedgesparrow and there were lots of Swifts overhead.

Avocet at Titchwell RSPB

Headed along the main path to Island Hide. Mother has not walked this far for a very long time and nearly didn't make it – we got there in the end though! I have never seen so many birds from this hide – it was an incredible sight! Hundreds of birds in stunning light – there was so many, that I didn't have time to look at every bird, as mother got chilly and wanted to go home. There were hundreds of Avocets, loads of Black-tailed Godwits, several Ruff, Spotted Redshanks, several Redshanks, 6 Spoonbills, Little Egrets, Heron, found the Garganey asleep, Teal, several Med Gulls, loads of Black-headed Gulls + teenagers, Little Gulls x 2, Herring Gulls, Common Terns, Sandwich Tern, Shelducks with young, Lapwings, 1 Greenshank, Little Ringed Plover, Marsh Harrier, 33 Dunlins, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler. There were some Cinnabar Caterpillars on Ragwort alongside the path on route to the hide and lots of friendly mosquito's on the way back!

Back in February/March, you kindly donated to our Window Appeal, which Penny Clarke advertised on her blog to great effect.

I’m delighted to tell you that thanks to the wonderful response, the new windows and door have now been fitted and are shown in all their splendour on the home page of our website, www.noa.org.uk

Please accept our thanks for helping to make this happen. We hope you will come and see the windows for yourself before too long.

With very Best WishesSophie Barker, Warden at Holme Bird Observatory

On the NOA Website Sophie writes the following:
"Further to the superb response of NOA members and supporters, work to
replace the windows at the Observatory has now been completed
successfully, and makes the whole building look brand new ! Our thanks to everyone who donated towards this work, to the family
of Peter Clarke, the Goldcrest Charitable Trust, to Timber Windows
Norfolk for their fabulous new windows, and Steward Safety signs for
finishing off the work with a great new sign for the building. The
Observatory will now be dedicated to the memory of founder warden Peter
Clarke."

Bloodgate Hill – a North Norfolk rock band's debut album of 13 self written songs, with style influenced by 70s rock, old school punk, post punk is available via their facebook page and only £5!https://www.facebook.com/bloodgatehillofficial/

HEART IN A VICE

One of the songs from the album

The lead singer Andrew Bloomfield, is Warden for Holkham Estate and a well known and much respected Norfolk birder. I had no idea he was in band until fairly recently! One of the songs is written to highlight the ongoing atrocities of the dolphin slaughter in Japan (Killer's Cove).

Friday, 7 July 2017

Stopped to assist in an accident today along the
Lynn Road, B1145, by the C of E School at Gayton, whilst on my way to
see a patient in community. A young lad had fallen off his bike and had
two grazed knees and he was in a bit of a state of shock and very upset –
the blood looked worse than it probably was. I pulled the car over and
walked back to find two adults supporting him either side, but he was
still standing, so I took control a bit and got him to sit down on his
rucksack in a shady spot and got him to
breath in and out deeply to calm him down – he followed my instructions
and immediately calmed down a bit. A lady from the school arrived with a
first aid box and took over – I'm sure he will be ok in a few days
time. Good job he was wearing a cycle helmet! This is the second time
this week I have assisted in incidents. Cilla and I helped someone that
was potentially going to collapse outside the QEH earlier this week!

Its been sooooo hot today. After doing the laborious weekly shop and returning home – I flung open all the windows in the house to let some of the heat escape. Within half an hour of doing this, a very selfish neighbour lit a big bonfire – all the smoke billowed in my direction! Of course the smoke won't affect his house at all! Had to shut all my windows, not happy! Why did he light a bonfire on the hottest evening so far?! Utterly selfish!

So, the Amur Falcon has departed Cornwall – I wonder if it will pop into Norfolk on route?!!!

Thursday, 6 July 2017

Mother had gone on the bus to the hairdressers in Old Hunstanton late this afternoon. Lucy and I went to pick her up after I finished work and then went to Eric's Fish n Chips for a take-away. I could not believe it – they recently put the prices up and now they have been hiked up again!!! At the beginning of the year, medium sized fish 'n' chips was £5.50 and large was £6.00, then went up to £6.00 and £7.00 not long ago and NOW its £7.00 for a medium portion and £8.50 for a large portion! Its a bit like the house prices along the coast – none of the locals with average wages will be able to afford these prices! I begrudgingly paid for them!

We sat in the garden after our POSH fish 'n' chips and had a lemon tart for dessert. It was a beautiful evening and a lovely temperature in the garden – not too hot and certainly not cold!Did a few jobs for mother: de-flead the cat, which was not an easy job! Cleaned and re-filled all mother's many bird ponds. Soaked, creamed and massaged mother's poorly looking legs, that needed some TLC! Watched some of Wimbledon. Drove home and hoped to spot the Little Owls on the fence by the Knight's Hill roundabout, but sadly no dumpy birds on posts at all!

News of an AMUR FALCON at dusk in Cornwall this evening! Why
do the very best birds have to be at the extreme end of the country –
2nd for Britain too! Don't really fancy doing Cornwall in a day when I'm
at work on Sunday! Although I did do this once for an American Bittern
and Green Heron with Andy Andrew Wilkinson,Justin Lansdell and Chris Baker in October 2010!

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